Reclining head board for beds



Nov. 22, 1955 v. A. TRIVAS ETAL 2,724,127

RECLINING HEAD BOARD FOR BEDS .Filed Feb. 8, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheac 1 I Jl4 INVENT'OR. o o I O VLctor-AJrzz/as ATTO/EN E Y- Nov. 22, 1955 FiledFeb. 8, 1952 V. A. TRIVAS ETAL RECLINING HEAD BOARD FOR BEDS 3Sheets-Sheet .2

mvgzvroza. VzctorA. Tr uuas Jacob Bunow ATTORNEY.

Nov. 22, 1955 v. A. TRlVAS ET AL 2,724,127

RECLINING HEAD BOARD FOR BEDS Filed Feb. 8, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 5lNVElyTOR.

VwfiorA .Trbuas By Jab Bun/Q1 United States Patent 1 REGLINING HEADBOARD. FOR BEDS Victor A..Trivas, Hollywood, and Jacob Bunow, LosAngeles, Calif.

. Application February 8, 1952, SerialNo..270,536

zelaims. (c1. s--53 invention relates to reclining head boards for bedsand has as its general object to provide an improved reclining head?board arrangement.

In"gen'eral', a recliningheacl board will provide a comfortable backrest for a person sitting up in bed for reading, eating; sewing, etc;This is especially true where theheadboard is upholstered to provide apadded Oneof the important objects of surface as a back rest.

the. present inventionis to provide an arrangement in i which" anentireheadboard (either unitary or in two separately operable sections)thefull width of the bed and the full height-"of the headboard, isadjustable from a normalvertical positionto a forwardly and downwardlyinclined position in which it will provide a comfortable back' rest fora person sittingup in bed. Such a headboardrin its normal verticalposition; will havea smooth, un'brokent appearance which" is just asdecorativeas"the'fixed headboard would' bet In this respect theinvention provides a definite improvement over prior proposals for apanel insert in a headboard, such panel insert'being shiftable to aninclined position to providea back rest.

A' further object of theinventionis to provide a headbo'ardand headframeassembly which may be applied tofa" Hollywood type bed in a very simplemanner.

Statedsomewhat differently, theinvention contemplates a headboard andhead frame assembly (embodying a standfor'supporting it upright) whichmay be purchased as" a unit and placed in thedesiredposition for thehead' i type bed by the simple expedient of shoving the bed upagainst'thestand and fitting or securing the. bed to the stand;

A further object is to provide such a headboard and hea-dframeunit, inwhich the stand portion of the headframe provides a support for the nearend of the bed, the legs of the latter being removed "for that purpose:

A furtherobject is to provide a headboard and frame arrangement in whichthe edges of the headboard" and thehead frame are of comparablethickness and adapted tobe aligned with each other in the normalvertical position of the headboard, whereby to present a relativelyunbroken upholstered side edge contour.

A further object is to provide anxinclinable headboard arrangementproviding for two different inclinations of the-headboard at theselection of the user.

Otherobjects will become apparent in the ensuing specifications andappended drawings in which:

Figi l is a perspective view of a portion of i a bed with one form of myimproved inclinable headboard mechanism associated therewith;

Fig: 2 is a sectional view thereof taken in a vertical longitudinalplane .of the bed;

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the head frame thereof; Fig-a4 is a rearperspective view of the headboard and head frameuassembly;

, Fig. 5 is a. rear perspective view of a modifiedrformt.

ofeheadboard and head frame unit;

Fig: Sis-a side view thereof with the headboard shown' in itsnormalposition in full lines and its inclined position in dotted lines;

Fig. 7 isa cross sectional viewthereof showing the in-' clined positionof the headboard;

Fig. 8 is arear view of a headboard (for a" twin size,

bed) embodying a furthermodificationof' the-invention;

Fig. 9 is a sideviewof a head portion ofabedequippecly with theheadboard of Fig. 8, shown in its normal upright":

position;

Fig. 10 is a side viewof the same showing the headboard in a recliningposition;

Fig. 11 is a rear-perspectiveview ofa double size bed:

equipped with a headboard embodying a pairof separate reclinableheadboardsections of thegeneral typeshowrr in Fig. 8;

Fig. 12 is a rear perspectiveview' of the same" showing one of theheadboard sections in a reclining position;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary detail side view of the head rest of Fig. 8;

Fig. 14 is a detail of the hinge member'thereof; and

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of a portion of" the hinge.

member.

Referring now to theformof the invention disclosed in Figs: 1-4inclusive, theinvention provides a unit comprising, in general, aninclinable headboard'id'and'a head frame 11 upon which the headboard 10ismounted.

Frame 11 comprises a stand portionincludinglaterallyspaced uprights 12(Fig. 3), atransverse'beam 13-suitably secured to uprights 12'anddisposed in a vertical plane, a sill 14secured to the-lower portion ofbeam 13" and projecting horizontally forwardly therefrom, and areference to the. bedstead.

Thehead frame further includes an intermediate transverse frame member18, spaced above member IS, and a pair of vertical'side members 19 theouteredges of which are adapted to be substantially flush with thesid'es of the" bedstead and the springs 30 andmattress: 2i) supportedthereon as indicated in Fig. 1.

Headboard 10 is preferably upholsteredas indicated-,

and side members 19 are likewise upholstered or coveredwith the samematerial, the side edges thereof lying" substantially in a common planewith the sideedges": of headboard 10 so as to give the appearance of asubstantially unbroken continuation thereof when the headboard is in thenormal upright position shown in Fig.2.

To the rear side of headboard 10 are secured a phi-1 rality of hinges21, on a common transverse horizontal hinge axis. The head frameincludes an upper portion consisting in upward extensions 22 of uprights12abovecross member 18,- and a horizontal transverse member 23 bridgingbetween the upper ends thereof. portion constitutes a support means forheadboard 10..

Hinges'ZI-are secured to transverse member 23, whereby headboard 10 ishinged to the head frame forswinging" movement from thenormal verticalposition shown-in full lines of Fig. 2 to a forwardly inclined position"such as that shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and4 and in" dotted lines inFig. 2.

To the lower extremity of headboard 10, through a series of hinges 24,is hinged, on a transverse horizontalaxis,. a panel: 25 which normally.is folded upwardly": behind. headboard 10,. just forwardly of; supportmeans 22, as indicated in Fig. 2. Extensions 22 are of reduced.

thickness as compared to the lower portions of uprights Patented Nov.22, 1955.

Such upper 12 to provide an offset shoulder 26 of sutficient width tomatch the thickness of panel 25. Thus there is provided, between therespective vertical planes of side frame members 19 and intermediatecross member 18 on the one hand, and support means 22 on the other hand,a space to accommodate panel 25 in its folded position, with headboard10 disposed generally in the plane of members 18, 19.

In the first position of forward tilting of headboard 10, shown indotted lines in Fig. 2, panel 25 has the rear portion thereof supportedupon shoulders 26, and thus the panel functions as a brace to supportthe headboard in the forwardly inclined position. tion offorwardinclination, panel 25 is disposed substantially in the plane ofheadboard 10, hinges 24 being so disposed that the adjacent edge ofpanel 25 engages the lower edge of headboard 10 to stiffen thecombination of panel and headboard so that with the lower edge of panel25 resting against the mattress as indicated in Fig. 2, the two will besubstantially rigidified in a common plane to accept rearwardly directedloads imposed on the headboard.

As indicated in Fig. 3, and also in Fig. l, the headboard and head framestructure just described may comprise one half of a double headboard andframe assembly, to be used in connection with twin beds. In this case,intermediate cross member 18, as shown in Fig. 3, may constituteapproximately one half of a full length cross member, joining the twohead frames together, the bridging portion of the cross member beingindicated at 31. The same may be true of cross member 13, with abridging portion 31' (Fig. 3).

Referring now to the form of the invention shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7,the head frame structure is generally the same as that shown in Figs.1-4 and similar reference numerals have been used to designate thevarious parts thereof. Fig. 5 illustrates the bedstead and mattressshifted forwardly with reference to the stand portion of the frame sothat all of the sill 14 is visible. It will be understood, however, thatthe normal position of the bedstead is as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, withthe head portion of the bedstead resting upon the sill 14. These figuresillustrate how the head legs of the bedstead may be removed and thebedstead supported upon and secured to sill 14 (note securing elements32 of Fig. 7). Headboard 10a is, in this form of the invention, hingedby hinges 33, to one edge of a swinging panel 34 the opposite edge ofwhich is hinged, by means of hinges 35, to the upper end of uprightextensions 22a. Uprights 12a in this case are of the same thickness asextensions 22a (the two members constituting the continuous, uniformthickness bar in each case) and the thickness of upholstered crossmember 13a is substantially the same as that of headboard 10a. Sideuprights 19a are upholstered as indicated at 36, with a thicknesscorresponding to that of the side edges of upholstered headboard 10a,whereby in the normal upright position of the headboard, shown in fulllines in Fig. 6, the bed side edges appear to be substantiallyuninterrupted continuation of upholstered side edges 36a.

In the normal upright position of headboard 10a, panel 34 is vertical(in the plane of extensions 22a) and rests flatly against the rear faceof the headboard as shown in Fig. 6, its upper edge being disposed justbelow the upper extremity of headboard 10a, sufficiently to beconcealed, and its lower extremity registering with the upper ends ofextensions 22a. In the forwardly inclined position of the headboard,panel 34 extends forwardly,

In the second posi so that the axis of hinges 33 is shifted downwardlysubform of the invention in which the head frame includes a solid panel41 having legs 42 and having brackets 43 rigidly secured thereto andprojecting forwardly therefrom for attachment to the bedstead 16,whereby the head frame becomes an integral part of the bedstead.Projecting upwardly from panel 41, and spaced inwardly from the sidesthereof, are a pair of supports 22b to the upper ends of which arepivoted, at 44, a pair of hinge straps 45. Swinging bridge 34b has theends thereof abutted against the inner faces of hinge straps 45 andsecured thereto, as by means of nails 46 extending through openings 46ain straps 45 and embedded in panel 10b. Attached to the swinging ends ofstraps 45, by means of pivots 47, are angle brackets 48 which are alsoconnected to the top cross member 49 of the frame portion of headboard10b. The headboard as illustrated in Fig. 8, also includes side uprightmembers 50 and a bottom horizontal member 51. The finished headboard isupholstered as shown in Figs. 9 and 10.

Swinging bridge member 34b functions to brace and rigidify the hingestraps 45 in a common transverse plane, so that the axis of hinge pivots47 may remain parallel to that of pivot 34. The primary hingingconnection between uprights 22b and the headboard 10b is, however,through the metal hinge part 45, 48 of Fig. 14, the use of these partsfacilitating the manufacture and assembly of the headboard and headframe combination, and making the same more durable. These hinge partsare adapted to interengage with a locking action to limit the downwardbreaking of the hinges which they cooperatively provide at pivots 47.Such locking action is derived from engagement of brackets 48 againstabutment shoulders 52 at the ends of straps 45. The locking engagementoccurs when straps 45 reach the horizontal positions of Fig. 10, in thedownward swinging movement thereof.

Figs. 11 and 12 illustrate the headboard and frame arrangement of Fig.8, embodied in a double bed, there being two headboard sections 100,somewhat narrower than the headboard 10b, two sets of uprights 220, bothattached to a common panel 41c, two swinging panels 340, and two sets ofhinge hardware 45, 48. Thus the headboards are individually adjustableas indicated in Fig. 12. I

It will be apparent that the arrangement of Figs. 8-15 are generallysimilar to that of Figs. 5-7 insofar as the connection of the headboardto the head frame is concerned.

It will be apparent that in either form of the invention,

the headboard may be shifted from its normal vertical position to itsforwardly projected inclined position by simply grasping it, lifting itslightly and moving it forwardly or rearwardly as the case may be. It ispossible for a person sitting in the bed to accomplish this by simplyreaching around the side edge, near the lower corners of the headboardand pulling it lightly forward. In I the form shown in Figs. l4, when ithas been shifted sufficiently far forward, panel 24 will automaticallydrop to the intermediate position shown in Fig. 2, which is thepreferred position of inclination. In the forms shown in Figs. 5-l5, theweight of the headboard will urge it downwardly as the lower portionthereof is pulled forwardly. Conversely, by lifting slightly against thelower edge of the headboard and pushing it rearwardly, the upper portionof the headboard will swing upwardly automatically, until the normalvertical position is reached.

When the headboard reaches the reclining position, it remains supportedby its own weight, between the two hori- I zontal lines of supportprovided by the mattress and by the forward edge of bridge 34respectively.

In the forms shown in Figs. 5l5, a number ofintermediate positions maybe selected, each one determined by the particular position where thelower edgeof the headboard is allowed to rest against the mattress Inthese various selected positions, the inclination of the headboard willvary anywhere from the vertical position to the position of maximumforward inclination shown in full lines in Fig. 7.

The forward edge of bridge 34 is beveled to accommodate the forwardinclination of the headboard 10, as shown in Fig. 7.

As shown in Fig. 7, the upholstered portion of the headboard may includecushioning coil springs interposed between the frame and the upholsterycover of the headboard, to provide maximum cushioning comfort.

We claim:

1. An attachment for a bed, of the Hollywood type including a bedsteadall portions of which have a maximum height not exceeding the height ofthe upper level of the mattress supported thereon, adapted to have aheadboard panel attached thereto, said attachment com prising: uprightsupport means adapted to be attached to the head end of said bedsteadand to project upwardly therefrom; a transverse bridge element and hingemeans hingedly connecting said bridge element to the top of said uprightsupport means on a horizontal axis adjacent the lower edge of saidbridge element; and hinge means connected to said bridge element on ahinge axis adjacent the upper edge thereof, and adapted for attachmentto said headboard panel adjacent the upper edge thereof, said bridgeelement having a normal position projecting upwardly from the top ofsaid upright support means, with the headboard panel in a normalposition in a vertical plane having its lower edge adjacent the level ofthe upper surface of the mattress, and said bridge element being adaptedto swing from said normal position downwardly and forwardly so as tolower the upper edge of said headboard panel and require the projectionof said headboard panel to a position inclined downwardly and forwardlywith its lower edge resting on the mattress; said hinge means includinga pair of metal hinge straps attached to the respective ends of saidbridge element and projecting beyond both the upper and lower edgesthereof; pivot elements extending through the end portions of said hingestraps which project below the lower edge of said bridge element when innormal position and anchored in said vertical support means; and anglebrackets each having one ear pivotally attached to an end portion of arespective hinge strap which projects beyond the upper edge of saidbridge member and another car, at right angles to said first ear, forattachment to the rear face of said headboard panel.

2. An attachment for a bed, of the Hollywood type including a bedsteadall portions of which have a maximum height not exceeding the height ofthe upper level of the mattress supported thereon, adapted to have aheadboard panel attached thereto, said attachment comprising: uprightsupport means adapted to be attached to the head end of said bedsteadand to project upwardly therefrom; a transverse bridge element and hingemeans hingedly connecting said bridge element to the top of said uprightsupport means on a horizontal axis adjacent the lower edge of saidbridge element; and hinge means connected to said bridge element on ahinge axis adjacent the upper edge thereof, and adapted for attachmentto said headboard panel adjacent the upper edge thereof, said bridgeelement having a normal position projecting upwardly from the top ofsaid upright support means, with the headboard panel in a normalposition in a vertical plane having its lower edge adjacent the level ofthe upper surface of the mattress, and said bridge element being adaptedto swing from said normal position downwardly and forwardly so as tolower the upper edge of said headboard panel and require the projectionof said headboard panel to a position inclined downwardly and forwardlywith its lower edge resting on the mattress; said hinge means includinga pair of metal hinge straps attached to the respective ends of saidbridge element and projecting beyond both the upper and lower edgesthereof; pivot elements extending through the end portions of said hingestraps which project below the lower edge of said bridge element when innormal position and anchored in said vertical support means; and anglebrackets each having one ear pivotally attached to an end portion of arespective hinge strap which projects beyond the upper edge of saidbridge member and another ear, at right angles to said first ear, forattachment to the rear face of said headboard panel; said uprightsupport means comprising a pair of supporting bars adapted to beconnected to the bed at their lower ends and connected at the upper endsonly by said bridge element and hinge straps and pivots, said bridgeelement having a straight edge adjacent the axis of said pivots, andsaid supporting bars having squared upper ends adapted to be engaged bythe straight edge and the bridge element when in normal position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS588,622 Ware Aug. 24, 1897 1,404,448 Kroupa Jan. 24, 1922 2,263,050 ReinNov. 18, 1941 2,492,430 Koch Dec. 27, 1949 2,554,799 Sprunger May 29,1951 2,642,585 Piliero June 23, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,916 Great BritainJuly 20, 1911 240,757 Switzerland Jan. 31, 1946

